Dennis forces TT vs Panama 24-hour delay

RAVAGES of Hurricane Dennis forced a 24-hour postponement of the Trinidad and Tobago CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Panama. The hurricane knocked out power lines on Friday and CONCACAF decided to push the game back to today, the second of a  double header at the Orange Bowl Stadium.  Kick off is 9 pm. Following the announcement, the “Warriors” indulged themselves in playing cards or pressing buttons for DVD movies and PlayStation football along with some good “ole talk,” as all the footballers were kept in their rooms due to the inclement weather.

CONCACAF prohibited teams from leaving the hotel for training on Friday evening and yesterday morning. But national coach Leo Beenhakker, thanks to an improvement in the weather, headed to Barry University for an evening training session yesterday. And in true Trini style, Beenhakker joked: “It’s what we have to prepare for now, playing a day later because of a guy called Dennis.” “It’s not too much of an adjustment but of course it also puts back our next game by a day. But we will take it as it comes and getting the boys ready will be the job and then we go for the win,” he added.

Hurricane Dennis was welcomed by the injured Carlos Edwards, however, who used the extra day to recuperate. Edwards is hopeful of a full recovery after receiving treatment from team physiotherapist Zeph Nicholas, to be in the squad for today’s game. Some rooms, however, had their television sets locked on to the Mexico vs South Africa game until the weather forced a breakdown in the DIRECTV signal, even before the South Africans went 2-0 up. The “Warriors” will take the field following the Colombia vs Honduras game to be played earlier.